Our First Taste of Australia

In 2018 we came to Australia for our check-in trip, our first entry into the country as permanent residents. We had two weeks. We landed in Sydney, went to Melbourne for a few days, and spent the rest of the trip back in Sydney. In between visiting family, we saw as much as we could of the country we were going to call home.

We both loved Sydney from the start, for its natural beauty and the weather.

Melbourne: Eureka Skydeck and the laneways

Soon after landing in Sydney, we went to Melbourne for four days. One of the first things we did was go up the Eureka Skydeck in Southbank. It calls itself the Southern Hemisphere’s highest observation deck. There is also The Edge, a glass cube that slides 3 metres out from the side of the building.

The MCG and the tennis centre, from the Eureka Skydeck.

Then we walked the laneways. Hosier Lane is covered in street art by local and international artists. Degraves Street and Centre Place are full of cafés and smell of fresh coffee, and there is AC/DC Lane, named after the rock band. We got to Hosier Lane in the evening.

Hosier Lane, covered in street art.

Getting around on the trams was easy. Inside the city’s Free Tram Zone you don’t need to tap on, so we just hopped on and off. Outside the zone you need a myki card, which is Victoria’s public transport card.

A City Circle tram (route 35) in Docklands.

ArtVo and the Melbourne Star

The next day we went to Docklands. ArtVo is an art gallery full of painted scenes where you pose and become part of the picture. 😀

Me on a paper plane ride over the Opera House, ArtVo style.

Close by is the Melbourne Star, an observation wheel that is 120 metres tall, about the height of a 40-storey building. One rotation takes around 30 minutes, and you get 360-degree views over the city and Port Phillip Bay.

Riding the Melbourne Star.

Stanwell Tops

Back in Sydney, we drove south to the lookout at Stanwell Tops. This was our first look at that stretch of coast. We went back later, and we have a whole post on Stanwell Tops and the Sea Cliff Bridge from that visit.

Stanwell Park beach from the lookout at Stanwell Tops.

Circular Quay, the bridge and the Opera House

The next day was Circular Quay. It is the city’s main ferry terminal, with the Opera House on one side and the Harbour Bridge on the other, and ferries coming and going all day. The Opera House is World Heritage-listed, and the Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest steel arch bridge. On the western side of the Quay is The Rocks, where the British colony began in 1788. To get around Sydney you use an Opal card, which you tap on and off the trains, buses and ferries.

A dip at Bondi Icebergs

We had to swim at Bondi, so we went to Bondi Icebergs. The winter swimming club here was founded in 1929. Its 50-metre ocean lap pool sits right on the edge of the rocks, and when the swell is up the waves crash over the wall. There is also a smaller children’s pool cut into the cliff. The pool is open to the public all year, with lifeguards on duty.

Both Icebergs pools, right on the edge of the ocean.

We were lucky with the water. It was around 20 or 21 degrees, which is not bad at all for a pool with a name like Icebergs. 😀

Blue Mountains: Scenic World and Jenolan Caves

We started the Blue Mountains day at Scenic World in Katoomba. The Scenic Railway is the steepest passenger railway in the world, at 52 degrees. It drops 310 metres from the cliff into the rainforest. It was built for mining in the 1880s and became a tourist ride in 1945. At the bottom we passed a board of old tools from the Katoomba coal mine. The Cableway brings you back up, 545 metres, and the Skyway crosses between the cliffs about 270 metres above the Jamison Valley. It was so foggy that morning that the cars were disappearing into the cloud.

A Scenic World cable car disappearing into the fog.

From there we went on to Jenolan Caves. It is in a remote valley in the Blue Mountains World Heritage area, on the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. Visit NSW says they are the most ancient open caves in the world. There are several show caves to choose from, including the Lucas, Chifley, Orient and Temple of Baal caves. You can also stay at Caves House, built in 1897.

Inside one of the show caves at Jenolan.

On the way back from Jenolan, a wallaby was sitting right there on the road.

Our wallaby on the way back from Jenolan.

Sydney Tower Eye and the aquarium

Back in the city, we went up Sydney Tower Eye. The tower is 309 metres tall, the tallest structure in Sydney, and the observation deck is 250 metres up. From there we could see the Harbour Bridge and all the way across to the Botanic Garden.

Looking towards the Harbour Bridge from Sydney Tower Eye.

In the afternoon we went to SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. It has more than 4,000 animals from over 300 species and says it has the world’s largest variety of Australian aquatic life. There are sharks, rays, penguins and even a rescued dugong.

The dugong at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium.

Taronga Zoo

On 2 April we went to Taronga Zoo. It is right on the harbour, a short ferry ride from the city. It opened in 1916, and since 1987 the Sky Safari cable car has carried visitors over the steep hillside. We saw pelicans, a giraffe, meerkats and, of course, kangaroos.

Kangaroos taking it easy at Taronga Zoo.

What we learnt on that first trip

If you are planning your first visit, here is what helped us:

Use public transport where you can. The Sydney ferries and Melbourne trams get you around, and you see a lot from them too.
Pack layers. The weather changes a lot in both cities, and the Blue Mountains can be foggy.
Leave time to just walk around, especially by the harbour and in the laneways.
Give the Blue Mountains a full day if you want to do Scenic World and Jenolan together.
Don’t try to see all of Australia in one trip. It is way too big for that.

Sources: Melbourne Skydeck, Melbourne laneways, Visit Melbourne, Visitors to Victoria, Transport Victoria, ArtVo, Visit Melbourne, Melbourne Star FAQ, Circular Quay, Sydney.com, Bondi Icebergs, Sydney.com, Scenic Railway, Scenic World, Scenic World, Visit NSW, Jenolan Caves, Visit NSW, Jenolan Caves, Sydney Tower Eye fact sheet, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, Taronga history.